I'm very excited to be posting about Lisa Solomon's new book, Knot Thread Stitch: Exploring Creativity through Embroidery and Mixed Media. This book is not just about embroidery. It is chock full of inspiring ways to use embroidery along with various materials in interesting and different ways. Lisa has included a wide variety of projects and after each one, there is another interpretation of the same project by a different artist. I love seeing how one idea can percolate into something else similar, yet different. This isn't just about fabric either. Paint, paper, stamps and shrinky dinks all show up in the projects. And most of them are easy, accessible and look to require little time. All good, in my mind.
In other words, it's freaking cool.
Projects that jumped out to me immediately:
These tea towels combine paint with embroidery. What an unexpected and interesting combination!
This tote bag uses a child's artwork as inspiration for the embroidery. I have done something along these lines with both of my kids and I treasure the resulting projects.
And look! A neclace made from shrinky dinks! With stitching! How fun is that? I also think it is a great project for my girls to do…really, who doesn't love shrinky dinks?
I think my favorite thing about this book is that is a wonderful starting point for exploring your own creativity with embroidery. The projects are great on their own, but work just as well as prompts that will help you create something that is truly one of a kind.
Lisa and her publisher, Quarry Books, have generously offered a copy of Knot Thread Stitch to one of my readers. To enter your name into the "hat", comment on this post before Sunday, September 16th at 5:00 p.m. Let me know how you use embroidery in your projects. If you are not a stitcher, what would you use embroidery to do? I'll let the random number generator chose a winner.
I really would love to incorporate embroidery into a few of the quilts I make, there is something rather wonderful about hand stitching. As time consuming as it can be I love hand stitching the binding onto the quilts I make. This book looks like it is full of inspiration. Thanks for the chance to win a copy. Enjoy the journey.
I love embroidering my kids’ names on their quilts and on anything I can get my hands on. I have done their drawings before but have not used them in projects. Next up, family tree!
I love seeing sewing projects with embroidery but have yet to do any myself. I’d love to stitch a special message into a quilt I’m working on right now.
This book has been on my wish list on Amazon! I just found out that shrinky dinks still exist and am gonna come up with a fun way to use them!
I want to learn how to embroider so I can make adorable tea towels for Christmas gifts! I tried once on my own and it was a sad sight.
I put faces on the toys I make, but I’d like this book for my daughter. She likes to freehand embroider all sorts of things.
I have to admit to using some machine embroidery in addition to that done by hand. I have two Halloween projects waiting that have hand embroidery, both by Crabapple Hill patterns.
This book looks inspiring. I love using embroidery to enhance lots of different crafts.
Well, I use embroidery ON EVERYTHING. 😉 I’d say it mostly shows up as detail in my felt portraits.
P.S I don’t usually feel “wanty” and, so, don’t usually try for giveaways, but this book is making me feel wanty. 🙂
I like to accent my kids’ things to personalise them. It’s much easier to claim something from the lost and found when you’re absolutely sure that only your mum embroidered “love you Kiki” on your lunch bag. It’s also great for making quick gifts – I did a set of felt bookmarks to give with book store gift cards last Christmas.
I need help with my embroidery skills. It looks like a wealth of information. Thanks for the review, Erin.
I’ve always wanted to do it, but have only dabbled here and there. I would like to embroider messages to my girlfriends on tea towels. Inside jokes. I would love to turn my kids artwork into bags! How special!
I embroider simple designs on pillows for the kids beds. I want to start stitching more and trying new surfaces – this book seems like just the inspiration!
This looks like fun! It makes me want to decorate tea towels or dish cloths. Just like my Grandma used to use!
I am teaching my daughters to stitch, so hopefully we could use it for many, many projects.
I like to use embroidery on tea towels…traditional but I find that few people make tea towels anymore. I used Sublime Stitching to make some very non-traditional tea towels for my 23 year old daughter’s kitchen. She loved ’em! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have used embroidery on tea towels too and on an art quilt I made for a school auction. This book looks like it has so many fun ideas for me and my three girls!
I’m just starting in on embroidery. My first project is a pillowcase.
I have done a couple small embroidery projects, right now I am working on a wall hanging. I woul use embroidery for ambellishing my daughters clothes.
I still need to learn how to do embroidery. But if I ever learn, I would embroider half my clothes probably.
That tote bag. No question about it! I’d love to put the spotlight on my daughters beautiful drawings in this way. Can’t stop thinking about this lovely idea now!
I’ve embroidered only a handful of things. A machine-sewn purse and a hand sewn mini quilt for my daughter’s room. I would love to have been taught by my grandma. Hopefully one day I can teach my grandkid….
I’ve embroidered a handful of tea towels from my daughter’s drawings. I love the potential of embroidery. Potential that is only limited by patience.
I love seeing sewing projects with embroidery but have yet to do any myself
I have knitted or crocheted a blanket for all my grandchildren when they were born and always embroider hteir name and birthyear onto them when finished. What a delightful book.
oh man, i’ve been ogling that book for a time! fingers crossed…
I use embroidery to “sign” my quilts, and to embellish bags and zippy pouches. I would love to think of new uses though…
I would love to start using embroidery to embelish the bottoms of skirts — even better, skirts I would get off my arse and sew!
Oh, I would really love to make that necklace. I do embroidery ( hand and machine) on all my sewing and knitting for my granddaughter. WE need a necklace now!
I usually use embroidery in a more utilitarian way – trying to label things creatively, etc. I would love to hone my skills and I would really love to embroider small – like all of the cute necklaces that seem to be popping up on etsy. xo
This past Christmas I decided that I wanted to make a personal gift for everyone in my immediate family (only four, my mother, my daughter, my brother, his partner) and so about three days before Christmas I pulled out some linen and a piece of fabric that I had bought just for swatching and I made sachets. I used all the Christmas tree needles that had been left in the trunk of the car and some lavender. I embroidered the linen using the same four colors for every sachet but in different abstract patterns and then for the backing (which was a kind of leafy pattern) I embroidered something, a lady bug on a leaf, a rabbit peaking out from behind a leaf. It didn’t take long to do, but I loved doing it and thinking about that person as I worked on their sachet. I would love to do something like this every year, small but personal but I could totally use some inspiration.
I love all kinds of sewing and love to add details with embroidery. Thanks for the chance to win this awesome book!
I would love to be able to add decorative embroidery to my plain tea towels. I have always wanted to learn how to do this. Thanks for the chance to win!!
I incorporate embroidery in almost every project I make, I love that little extra handmade touch!
I love embroidery. I think it elevates a project. I love doing a little something on a quilt or a t-shirt. It just makes things more special.
Embroidery is my thing. since I was in elementary school I have been embroidering…shirts, purses, pillowcases, pictures and most recently, I did an amazing design for a New York Yankees fan. I am now into embroidering napkins and tea towels.
This looks so inspiring and something i could use to kick start my desire to get into embroidery! Thanks.
This book looks lovely! I would love to start a new embroidery project. I find embroidery so relaxing:) I love to add embroidery to quilts and to handmade clothes that I make for my children.
I’ve also just began to explore the art of embroidery with my 5yo daughter and she has already impressed me with the creativity and originality of her color choices and motifs. She’s made handkerchiefs for the grandmas and I love putting embroidered faces on the little dolls and toys we make. This looks like a wonderful resource for ideas and techniques! Thank you for the give-away chance.
I’ve only dabbled in embroidery, but would love to do more. This book looks terrific!
The necklace is so cool!
I love embroidery project. I will combine the embroidery into stitchery quilt.
i do some hand quilting though mostly in very little ways to decorate and personalize clothing and household items.
i just signed up for an embroidery class so I can learn some fancy pants stitches. Right now, I mostly embroidery to embellish both sewn and store bought clothes.
What a fun book!
I like to use embroidery on tote bags, but would like to branch out to use it on clothing.
I love to give away and use embroidered dish towels. I’m finding a lot of friends who miss the ‘old’ style of towel.
love to put embroidery on baby blankets i have made. hand ornaments one year. personalizing onesies. love the slow pace of it!
I always forget how much I love embroidery until I pick it up for a project. The most I’ve done recently is the name and who made it tags for a couple quilts.
I love all of the projects you featured. I am not a knitter, but the coming of fall always makes me want to sit down with a good embroidery project.
Embroidering on tea towels and pillowcases are on my want to try to do list. The book would be great.
Oh my word that looks like the coolest book ever! The only way I have used my embroidery is by embroidering the kids artwork on articles of clothing or a tote bag, but this book just looks like it’s going to kick it all up a notch!
In our little household, we embroider name tags galore, hockey themed sachets using the kids drawings, pockets, and little corners of this and that. What an interesting looking book!
Love this book! Iuse embroidery when I want to doodle on fabric and to add faces to bears.
Never thought I had the patience for embroidery but never thought I would lean to sew either so stitching is next on my list! Love the idea of personalizing.
Looks like just the inspiration I need! I love to embroider my daughter’s artwork. She loves the finished original design of our combined projects. We have made pillows and t-shirts. I would love to make her a quilt using this concept!
I use embroidery in my projects to add texture and dimension and to add that extra special touch to things that otherwise might seem a bit traditiona.
i love to make pillow with embroidery designs such as redwork or blue work.
This looks like a fun book!
I’ve been working on improving my embroidery. I love to use it as small accents on other projects that I’ve sewn. Of course a big goal I have is to do a larger embroidery project but I’m not there yet!
I like to use embroidery to personalize gifts and also as a utilitarian way to cover up stains and spots. Would love to create with mix media. Great book
I have been adding small touches of embroidery to my hand applique….this book ( new to me )
sounds like it might really expand my horizons ! Your post brought back fond memories of
learning to embroider as a child….my first projects were tea towels….my family would howl with
laughter when I had stitched the towel to my skirt ! Even I can smile….now !
I like using embroidery as a creative, yet functional way to rehab old jeans/t-shirts. And I would love to try shrinky dink embroidered jewelry!!
I would love to win the book…my latest embroidery project was a ring bearer’s pillow for my son’s wedding next month, and an upcoming project will be embroidery on my new little granddaughter’s Christmas stocking…I have been embroidering for nearly 60 YEARS…and it never gets old…..!!!!
Hi Erin! You are the winner of Knot Thread Stitch!!! Could you please email me your mailing address? Thanks! Erin
(hillroad at bellsouth dot net)